| Tiger Chen | |
| Native Name: | 陈虎 |
| Native Name Lang: | zh |
| Birth Date: | 3 March 1975 |
| Birth Place: | Chengdu, Sichuan, China |
| Occupation: | Actor, martial artist |
| Years Active: | 1998–present |
| Notable Works: | Man of Tai Chi Kung Fu Man |
| Awards: | Champion of National Youth Martial Arts Competition All Around Champion of San Francisco International Martial Arts Tournament Champion of National Karate (Men's -60kg) |
Tiger Chen (; born 3 March 1975) is a Chinese martial artist, stuntman and actor.[1] [2] [3] Tiger Chen is Yuen Wo Ping's protege and Keanu Reeves's teacher and friend. He was also Uma Thurman's stunt double.[4]
Tiger Chen was born on 3 March 1975 in Chengdu, Sichuan, where he studied the Chinese martial arts. By age 18, he enrolled into Sichuan Wushu Team. He won the National Youth Martial Arts Competition in China.
At the age of 19, Tiger Chen went to the United States. He lived in a small wooden shack behind a shopping plaza in Gloucester Township, New Jersey. There he taught tai chi and weapons classes to the students of the Tang Soo Karate Academy which was located in the plaza. He said: "In China, at least you can practice kung fu and attend martial arts competitions, but in the United States, you will find that most of your time in washing the dishes and being a porter."[5] Tiger Chen became a student of Hong Kong martial artist Yuen Woo-ping in 2000s.
In 1998, Tiger Chen began his film career by holding a post on the fight choreography team as an assistant under Yuen[6] in The Matrix, a science fiction action film starring Keanu Reeves, Laurence Fishburne, Carrie-Anne Moss, Hugo Weaving and Joe Pantoliano. At the same time, he became best friends with Keanu Reeves. Chen also held the post of choreographer in Charlie's Angels (2000), Once in the Life (2000) and (2003).
Tiger Chen had a minor role as a ronin in The Matrix Reloaded (2003), the second film of the Matrix trilogy. In 2005, he appeared as a martial artist in House of Fury with Anthony Wong, Gillian Chung, Stephen Fung and Charlene Choi.
In 2012, Tiger Chen played the lead role in Kung Fu Man, alongside Vanessa Branch and Jiang Mengjie.
After years in minor and supporting roles, Tiger Chen played the titular character in Man of Tai Chi, opposite the film's director Keanu Reeves, Karen Joy Morris and Yam Tat-wah.[7] [8] [9]
In 2018, Tiger made a special appearance in the Malaysian military film as a Chinese UN Observer accompanying the Malaysian UN Observers during a mission in Angola.
In 2019, Tiger co-starred with Tony Jaa and Iko Uwais in the film Triple Threat. He also has an uncredited cameo as a Triad assassin in the film .
| Year | English Title | Chinese Title | Role | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 | The Matrix | Chinese: 黑客帝国 | Choreographer | ||
| 2000 | Charlie's Angels | Chinese: 霹雳娇娃 | Choreographer | ||
| Once in the Life | Chinese: 一生一次 | Chino | |||
| 2003 | Chinese: 杀死比尔 | Choreographer | |||
| The Matrix Reloaded | Chinese: 黑客帝国2：重装上阵 | Ronin | |||
| 2005 | House of Fury | Chinese: 精武家庭 | Martial artist | ||
| 2012 | Kung Fu Man | Chinese: 功夫侠 | Chen Ping | [10] | |
| 2013 | Man of Tai Chi | Chinese: 太极侠 | Chen Linhu | [11] [12] | |
| 2015 | Monk Comes Down the Mountain | Chinese: 道士下山 | |||
| 2016 | Revenge of Gold | Chinese: 流金 | |||
| 2017 | Kung Fu Traveler | Chinese: 功夫机器侠 | Chen Wu/General Chen | ||
| Kung Fu Traveler 2 | Chinese: 功夫机器侠2 | A Jie/General Chen | |||
| Romantic Assassin | |||||
| 2018 | Sgt. Chen Han | Malaysian Produced with Royal Malaysian Navy and Special Appearance | |||
| 2019 | Triple Threat | Long Fei | |||
| Triad | Uncredited Cameo | ||||
| Special Forces King 3 | |||||
| 2021 | The Matrix Resurrections | M.O.T.C |